Samsung's feature phones could soon be going away. Yes, Samsung feature phones still exist, albeit in select markets such as India. Well, only for a while longer.
According to industry reports, Samsung is planning to exit the feature phone market in India. In fact, the original report via Economic Times claimed that Samsung intends to stop selling phones under INR 15,000 ($193), smartphones included, which wouldn't make a lot of sense considering the company's success in the budget smartphone segment.
In addition, feature phones aren't Samsung's primary source of revenue when it comes to mobile devices. They're sort of existing because they're very affordable and help the company's brand in emerging markets. Feature phone owners today, low-cost Galaxy smartphone buyers tomorrow.
Samsung feature phones could be going away, low-cost smartphones are here to stay
The reality looks more like this: Samsung wants to exit the feature phone market in India, yet it will continue selling smartphones above and below the INR 15,000 mark, say industry watchers cited by MySmartPrice.
So, nothing's changing regarding Samsung's smartphone business in India, but feature phones might be on their last legs. Samsung could stop manufacturing them in late 2022 or early 2023.
In Q4 2020, Samsung India had a feature phone market share of 18% and was the 2nd largest OEM after iTel and ahead of Lava. Globally, it held a market share of 8% and was the fourth-largest OEM. However, the feature phone market, as a whole, is shrinking, and Samsung might feel like it's time to focus solely on smartphones.
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